The prime minister left the venue without conferring an award to Vijnana Bharati that had been confirmed by the Department of Science and Technology.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a last minute U-turn while inaugurating the Indian Science Congress at Mysuru. He left the venue without conferring an award on Vijnana Bharati, an important wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The unusually important decision of Modi – whether caused by wanting to stay away from a fresh controversy or the intensification of his cold war with the RSS – infuriated the Vijnana Bharati, commonly known as VIBHA, so much that it immediately went public with its resentment.

A press statement issued by the body's secretary general A Jayakumar soon after the inaugural session of the 103rd Indian Science Congress said:

“The last minute denial of award to VIBHA in Indian Science Congress 2016 (ISC) by PM in the inaugural function, for its unique achievement of becoming the first organisation to receive Guinness Book of World Records [sic] in the field of science from India, has been a rude shock to the leaders of the organisation and scientific fraternity as a whole.”

A world record

On December 7, 2015, Vijnana Bharati organised a science class of 2,000 school students in the lawns of Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. The move was aimed at creating a new world record for the highest number of students conducting an experiment simultaneously. Two cabinet ministers – Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani – were also present at the occasion. Later, a video recording of the science class was sent to the Guinness Book of World Records. Ireland held the previous record with 1339 students conducting an experiment simultaneously in Belfast in February 2015.

Jayakumar, an RSS pracharak, told Scroll.in that the award to Vijnana Bharati for making the world record had been ratified and confirmed by the Department of Science and Technology and other relevant committees. “We were asked to be present at the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress where Modi would honour us for our achievement,” he said, adding: “We had decided that Prof Gurish Kumar, who had coordinated the Delhi event, would receive the award on behalf of VIBHA. I also accompanied him to the inaugural function.”

Vijnana Bharati, which is aimed at promoting Swadeshi sciences, is considered an elite wing of the RSS. Its significance in the Sangh’s scheme of things could be understood by the fact that two of the senior most office-bearers of the RSS – general secretary (Sarkaryavah) Bhaiyyaji Joshi and joint general secretary (Sah Sarkaryavah) Suresh Soni – are directly or indirectly involved in its activities. While Soni is incharge of Vijnana Bharati, Joshi takes special interest in its functioning.

According to a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office, Modi did not want to get embroiled in a controversy by honouring something which is hardly recognised as an achievement outside the RSS. “About a year back, just before the previous Indian Science Congress, he had courted a controversy by wondering how a plastic surgeon could have been involved in planting an elephant’s head on Lord Ganesha,” he pointed out.

Strain in the relationship

Officials in the RSS, however, viewed Modi’s decision not to honour Vijnana Bharati at the Indian Science Congress as yet another indication of the strain in the prime minister's relationship with his party's patron body. Since the Assembly elections in Bihar, there has been persistent talk of tension between the prime minister and the RSS intensifying.

Such are said to be the differences that neither Modi nor RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat is likely to attend the BJP-RSS coordination committee meeting slated to be held after January 14 this year. Many of the contentious issues related to the Modi government are likely to come up for discussion in the meeting.

Jayakumar, on his part, refrained from directly blaming Modi for the embarrassment caused to Vijnana Bharat. He, instead, blamed the Prime Minister’s Office for the faux pas. “I find serious fault with PMO in the denial of the award to a Guinness Book of World Record holder from India. This matter again highlights the urgent need to constitute a Scientific Advisory Committee to the prime minister, which is pending even 18 months after the new government coming into force,” the press statement, signed by him, said.

The right machine can save water, power consumption, time, energy and your clothes from damage.

In 2010, Han Rosling, a Swedish statistician, convinced a room full of people that the washing machine was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution. In the TED talk delivered by him, he illuminates how the washing machine freed women from doing hours of labour intensive laundry, giving them the time to read books and eventually join the labour force. Rosling’s argument rings true even today as it is difficult to deny the significance of the washing machine in our everyday lives.

For many households, buying a washing machine is a sizable investment. Oddly, buyers underestimate the importance of the decision-making process while buying one and don’t research the purchase as much as they would for a television or refrigerator. Most buyers limit their buying criteria to type, size and price of the washing machine.

Visible technological advancements can be seen all around us, making it fair to expect a lot more from household appliances, especially washing machines. Here are a few features to expect and look out for before investing in a washing machine:

Cover your basics

Do you wash your towels every day? How frequently do you do your laundry? Are you okay with a bit of manual intervention during the wash cycle? These questions will help filter the basic type of washing machine you need. The semi-automatics require manual intervention to move clothes from the washing tub to the drying tub and are priced lower than a fully-automatic. A fully-automatic comes in two types: front load and top load. Front loading machines use less water by rotating the inner drum and using gravity to move the clothes through water.

Simple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machine

Size matters

The size or the capacity of the machine is directly proportional to the consumption of electricity. The right machine capacity depends on the daily requirement of the household. For instance, for couples or individuals, a 6kg capacity would be adequate whereas a family of four might need an 8 kg or bigger capacity for their laundry needs. This is an important factor to consider since the wrong decision can consume an unnecessary amount of electricity.

Machine intelligence that helps save time

In situations when time works against you and your laundry, features of a well-designed washing machine can come to rescue. There are programmes for urgent laundry needs that provide clean laundry in a super quick 15 to 30 minutes’ cycle; a time delay feature that can assist you to start the laundry at a desired time etc. Many of these features dispel the notion that longer wash cycles mean cleaner clothes. In fact, some washing machines come with pre-activated wash cycles that offer shortest wash cycles across all programmes without compromising on cleanliness.

The green quotient

Despite the conveniences washing machines offer, many of them also consume a substantial amount of electricity and water. By paying close attention to performance features, it’s possible to find washing machines that use less water and energy. For example, there are machines which can adjust the levels of water used based on the size of the load. The reduced water usage, in turn, helps reduce the usage of electricity. Further, machines that promise a silent, no-vibration wash don’t just reduce noise – they are also more efficient as they are designed to work with less friction, thus reducing the energy consumed.

Customisable washing modes

Crushed dresses, out-of-shape shirts and shrunken sweaters are stuff of laundry nightmares. Most of us would rather take out the time to hand wash our expensive items of clothing rather than trusting the washing machine. To get the dirt out of clothes, washing machines use speed to first agitate the clothes and spin the water out of them, a process that takes a toll on the fabric. Fortunately, advanced machines come equipped with washing modes that control speed and water temperature depending on the fabric. While jeans and towels can endure a high-speed tumble and spin action, delicate fabrics like silk need a gentler wash at low speeds. Some machines also have a monsoon mode. This is an India specific mode that gives clothes a hot rinse and spin to reduce drying time during monsoons. A super clean mode will use hot water to clean the clothes deeply.

Washing machines have come a long way, from a wooden drum powered by motor to high-tech machines that come equipped with automatic washing modes. Bosch washing machines include all the above-mentioned features and provide damage free laundry in an energy efficient way. With 32 different washing modes, Bosch washing machines can create custom wash cycles for different types of laundry, be it lightly soiled linens, or stained woollens. The ActiveWater feature in Bosch washing machines senses the laundry load and optimises the usage of water and electricity. Its EcoSilentDrive motor draws energy from a permanent magnet, thereby saving energy and giving a silent wash. The fear of expensive clothes being wringed to shapelessness in a washing machine is a common one. The video below explains how Bosch’s unique VarioDrumTM technology achieves damage free laundry.